Shah Rukh Khan was perfect for Pardes, recalls Subhash Ghai: ‘But Mahima…’

Subhash Ghai’s film Pardes completed 25 years in August this year. The filmmaker launched Mahima Chaudhry with the movie that featured Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. In a recent interview, Subhash recalled the time, when he had to face several hurdles while making Pardes. Also read: Subhash Ghai recalls asking Shah Rukh Khan to ‘avoid his romantic side’ in Pardes

Recently, Subhash had revealed that he had first narrated the script of Pardes to Madhuri Dixit, and the actor had even liked it. However, it was newcomer Mahima, who eventually bagged the part. In a new interview, Subhash said the distributors of Pardes wanted him to cast ‘bigger names’ instead of Mahima and Apoorva Agnihotri, who played Ganga and Rajiv, respectively in the 1997 film. Shah Rukh was seen as Arjun in it.

Speaking of Pardes, Subhash told Bombay Times, “The greatest hurdle in making the film was the casting. We had a lot of discussions about whether we should cast a known name who had that star value, or find someone who suits the part to the T. I had Shah Rukh Khan in mind for Arjun’s character. I had developed it keeping him in mind, and I insisted on casting him. He was just setting foot in the industry at that time, and I got him on board immediately. He was perfect for the role.”

Speaking of how he had a hard time convincing the film’s distributors about casting Mahima for Pardes, Subhash Ghai further said, “My script did not allow me to cast a star for Kusum Ganga’s and Rajiv’s characters (played by Mahima and Apoorva). I only wanted to cast actors who could fit the bill. The distributors wanted me to cast bigger names and create a bigger project because our previous film Trimurti had not worked at the box office. I declined. I said, ‘I am making a film, not a project. I want to be sincere with what I want to say.’ Finally, when they saw Pardes, they were convinced. The rest is history! The film celebrated a golden jubilee run all over India, and Mahima won awards. I got some awards for the screenplay, too.”

Pardes also featured Alok Nath and Himani Shivpuri in pivotal roles. The film revolved around the idea of different values in Indian and Western cultures. In Pardes Shah Rukh’s Arjun was settled in a foreign land, but still believed in the cultural values of his country.